ABSTRACT
At varying times over the course of the therapy sessions and within each session itself the therapist needs to provide the family with a summary feedback on what has been learnt or what has occurred over that particular time. The ®rst aim in doing this is to check out with the family what the therapist's current understanding is and also to lay down the foundation for the therapeutic process that will go on from that time. It is helpful for the therapist to assume that at times she will not get the feedback correct and she should introduce a tentativeness to her statements. This can be achieved by using phrases like: `I might have got this wrong, but it looks to me as if . . .' Such tentativeness allows the family to construct a much more cohesive account of themselves for themselves. It is the ongoing construction of this narrative that maintains the family's sense of responsibility and active involvement in the therapy.
